“The Prime Minister today told parliament that she didn’t know when Janssen vaccines would be on shore in New Zealand because Medsafe has only just approved the vaccine," says ACT Leader David Seymour.
“The European Union and United States’ authorities approved the Janssen vaccine in March and February, respectively. Janssen said in April they could supply two million doses to New Zealand by July. Now the approval is there but the Government is not ready.
“Imagine a world where the Prime Minister was able to say, ‘yes, we anticipated getting this approval, and have agreements in place that will trigger delivery upon Medsafe approval. Thanks to today’s news, we expect to take delivery of the Janssen vaccine and begin rolling it out this month.’
“Of course, in the world we live in, the Prime Minister and her Government make it up as they go, have no forward planning or sequencing, and still vacillate for weeks if not months waiting for the vaccine to arrive in New Zealand, then working out how to distribute it.
“New Zealand deserves a Government that can walk and chew gum, or specifically to order and distribute the vaccine upon approval."